The folks at El Ideas show a sense of humor about mortality in the restaurant industry. more ›

It's great when someone else does the legwork to find us tasty things to drink, but credit needs to be given - Grubstreet Chicago hoofed it all over the city looking for the best in Spring cocktails, and they found some doozies. Many Chicagoist favorites, including Sable, The Bristol and Lula Cafe are on the list, along with some surprises, like a Ramp Gibson from Hearty. more ›

The Drawing Room's chief mixologist, Charles Joly, and chef, Nick Lacasse, are collaborating on a special four-course cocktail dinner on Thursday, May 12, to welcome the dawning spring season. Each food course will be paired with a complementary cocktail, all of which will feature a host of locally sourced ingredients. more ›

It's the time of year when lamb fills the tables, and two Chicago restaurants are hosting lamb feasts worth noting. RIA is hosting a lamb pop-up dinner in their private dining space on April 21st, and Taxim is converting the entire menu to lamb on April 24th. Menus for both dinners are below - and you won't be disappointed. more ›

The bar team at the Southern has been tinkering behind the scenes with a brand new cocktail menu for spring brimming with fresh ingredients and cooling flavors. And now they want to test it out on you. On Tuesday, April 12, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Southern will preview all the new cocktails for 5 bucks apiece. more ›

Perhaps the sunshine and warmer temperatures have lulled us into a false sense of security. It sure does feel, however, like spring may have finally sprung here in the Windy City. Call us eager, but that means it is time to start trading in parkas for shorts, snow boots for sneakers, and the soups and stews of winter for much lighter and fresher springtime fare. Though it is available year-round, one of our favorite spring dishes is none other than fresh guacamole. It is perfect for eating on the patio and has a flavor that harkens to warmer climbs and sunnier times. more ›

We're Muppet-crazy here in the Chicagoist offices today. This amazing weather has also got us crying out for spring already. So we thought combining the two would work for today's diversion, more ›

As we noted earlier in the year Shawn McClain’s Spring will be closing at the end of 2010. If you are a fan of Spring, this is your last chance to get a taste. Spring has created a menu featuring the most popular dishes from over the last decade, and it looks to be a doozy. They are offering two seatings on New Year’s Eve, an early seating with four courses for $145 and a later Gala seating with 5 courses for $195. The Gala seating also includes champagne and party favors, and both dinners include all wine pairings. more ›

Hot off the wire - Spring, Shawn McClain's pioneering Bucktown restaurant, will be closing after New Year's Eve. "The close of the year seemed like the right time to let Spring go," McClain said. He plans to focus more on his other restaurants, Green Zebra and Sage (in Las Vegas). He will split his time between the two. If you're desperate for a fix at Spring, they will be offering special meals in November and December made of their most popular dishes over the years. Four-course menus will be $59. more ›

The business partnership between Shawn McClain, Peter Drohomyrecky and Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky has been slowly dissolving over the past year. McClain decided to retain the vegetarian-focused Green Zebra while also focusing on Sage, his restaurant in Las Vegas' Aria hotel; while the Drohomyreckys now own Custom House Tavern outright. more ›

Spring harks the arrival of several vegetables and greens: asparagus, for one. more ›

On April mornings, occasionally we wake up to mild weather. The breeze is blowing through our windows, we've tossed off the blanket during the night. As we hazily grope towards wakefullness, we instinctively think "which farmers market should we go to today?" Then, we come to our senses and realize that it's still April. For those of you who are having cravings, have no fear - it's almost time! more ›

Despite some still coolish temps here and there, Spring has sprung in Chicago. The browns and grays of winter have been replaced with blues, greens, and yellows as flowers bloom and trees bud. Games are being played - and fans are misbehaving - at both Wrigley and The Cell once again. We've put away the winter coats and have already had some days when jackets weren't even needed. Yes, we've made it through another winter and with street fest season right around the corner, we thought we'd take a look at some of the great things about Chicago in Spring that we love. Add your own in the comments. more ›

We're just getting into that tumultuous time of year when we see a cycle of sun and storms. But how did this latest round look from Outer Space? more ›

How many of you enjoyed patio seating during that brief warmup last week? The artist's rendering above is what Big Star's patio will look like, minus the mob. more ›

We're just a hair over a month away from Opening Day for both the Cubs and Sox, but that doesn't matter right now. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and we've got baseball on the brain. Lucky for us, it starts today with the first Spring Training games for both teams. Sure, it'll be sloppy and full of minor leaguers jockeying for position on the roster, but at this time of year, baseball is baseball. The Cubs take on the Oakland A's at 2:05 p.m. (WGN 720 AM) while the Sox will battle the Angels starting at 4:05 p.m. (670 AM). Bonus for you White Sox night owls who have the special cable package: the MLB Network will show the Sox-Angels on tape-delay tonight at 10 p.m. more ›

We may have made it into the thirties this week but its still pretty fricking cold. Good thing its National Soup week. Here are a few suggestions for keeping you doubly toasty: more ›

If you haven't noticed, Chicagoist likes soup. We don’t limit our soup to the winter months nor do we only eat gazpacho in the summer; sometimes we want a hot, comforting bowl of soup in June. That being said, really heavy and creamy soups don't sound great on the cusp of summer either. (We're complicated people.) So here is a spring version of Potato Leek Soup (adapted from this Epicurious recipe) that doesn't call for any cream, butter or milk, making it a little lighter on our palates. more ›

Mexican food, culture and wrestling drew more than 500 people to Pilsen's first ever Mole de Mayo celebration Saturday afternoon. The event, which featured bouts of Mexican wrestling (lucha libre), and a variety of mariachi and dance troupes, was centered around mole, a traditional Mexican sauce. more ›

We love a good mole here at Chicagoist, although not so much to follow Geno Bahena and his traveling freak show of moles from restaurant to restaurant. Seriously, does the man have a wanderlust or is his business acumen just not that good? more ›

Spring has FINALLY arrived in the form of summer-like weather, but we're not complaining. Still, it got us talking around the Chicagoist office about a few of our favorite things about Spring in our fair city. Feel free to share yours in the comments. more ›

Okay, so when we think "Bell's Oberon" we don't typically imagine snow on the ground and temps in the 30's. But damnit, when Larry Bell says it's Oberon season, it's Oberon season. We were at Sheffield's last night for the tapping of the first keg of the year, which means that spring must be somewhere nearby. We hope. more ›

More amazing weather is on the way for the rest of this week and weekend. Highs should be in the mid-70s, possibly reaching 80 tomorrow, and overnight lows around 60. Next week will be much hotter and more humid, so enjoy this while it lasts. [WGN, NWS] more ›

Gorgeous day alert: Highs should be around 72 degrees, and it's supposed to be sunny all day. This whole week will be delightful, with clear skies and moderate temps. Best. [NWS, TWC, song to which the headline of this post refers] more ›

More severe storms battered our area this morning, and after a weekend of some rough weather, there's still more to come. There's a flash-flood watch for Chicago and Romeoville, thanks to a "slow-moving frontal boundary" and "abundant low-level moisture." Steamy! After today's tropical sweatiness, though, a cooler front should be heading into the region. more ›

Steamy temperatures this morning will give way to severe thunderstorms this afternoon, and yesterday was so humid we reached a tropical level dew-point of 70 degrees. [NWS, Trib] more ›

Yeow! It's hot! Highs will be in the 90s today and tomorrow—holy moly—but things should cool off a little bit this weekend. Highs in the 90s aren't unheard of in these parts, and aren't even record-breaking. WTF, spring. Where did you go? more ›

Double up on pit patrol today: It's hot. Today's highs will be near 80, but thunderstorms may develop tonight, and we're looking at heavy rains the rest of this week. more ›

TGIF. We know it was only a four-day week, but what a doozy. It's going to be rainy and muggy all day, so bring an umbrella. [NWS] more ›

It's not our imaginations--this month has been much colder than typical Mays. Yesterday's high was the lowest for the date since 1959, and so far this is the 35th coldest May since 1871. And today's high in the low 60s still puts us "a whopping 7.8 degrees behind last year," according to, you guessed it, Mr. Tom Skilling. [Trib, NWS] more ›